Kagome and the School of Four Souls: TJW
by Blackiecat
Summary: It's the SEQUEL! The story continues! After they hear the strange voice, Sesshomaru remembers reading a passage. Working together they will solve riddles to discover it's meaning. This time fate can go both ways, will Naraku come back?
1. Prophecies and Pancakes

BlackieCat: I returned, finally! -crycry- Not only that, I've learned a little bit more about writing. I'm so sorry I didn't get to the sequel of this story sooner, but I'm sure that surprises, cliffhangers, drama and romance are about to ensue! Hold onto to your underwear, everyone. The sequel is about to start! -woooooosh!-

**Kagome and the School of Four Souls: The Jewel Within**

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_Foreward__…_

_"What is it, Holly?" he asked her, sitting down on the ground and pulling her into his lap._

_"I'm in love with you…" she said meekly, resting against his chest. He hugged her gently and stood up, carrying her bridal style._

_"I love you too, Holly," he murmured to her. After kissing her lightly on her forehead, he turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone, I need your attention," he announced. Everyone turned towards him, questioning in their eyes._

_"I have heard some of that before, somewhere in the library. And, I think I know what it means."_

_-----_

Kagome fingered with the jewel that was held by the black choker necklace around her neck, looking at Sesshomaru in confusion, "Know what it means?" she asked. She thought about what the voice they all heard said carefully.

"Yeah, know what it means," his expression was serious and slightly non-existent, he was being normal again. "Today we go home and rest, that battle was stressful though easily won. I'm sure our training had paid off greatly. Some of us need to heal as well," he said looking down at Holly, "but if we are all well enough tomorrow we shall go to the library and search for the book I must have read it in."

With some mumbled agreements from the rest of the gang, Sesshomaru turned and led the way back to his and Inuyasha's house. They had a personal doctor in the mansion, so to him it seemed like the safest place to go. Today, they would not attend school.

Koga followed swiftly behind Sesshomaru, dragging Jaguira along by the hand. Miroku and Sango after them, Kagome and Inuyasha lagged in the back. Everyone was conversing amongst themselves quietly, their conversations all slightly different yet the same. They were speaking of the words the voice had spoken, sharing their ideas of what it could have meant.

After around ten minutes of walking, Sesshomaru turned into the pathway that led to the mansion. Reaching the door he kicked open the door and carried Holly through, the rest following quickly. "Kaede!" he called out. She came down the stairs as quick as her elderly legs could carry her

"What is it, Sesshomaru? Your voice carries urgency, I sense a great—oh my!" she exclaimed, seeing Holly and the others, "What has happened?"

"We had the battle today," he explained, "Holly was struck down by one of Naraku's bolts. She needs a rest bed, for recovery. Her demon blood should do the rest, so there is no need for your awful herbs. We do have open guest rooms, yes?"

Kaede nodded, "Yes, the first room on the left of the top floor is open. The rest of you, come with me and I shall over look you to be sure that none of you have any wounds that could become infected." Turning her old hunched back, she led the rest of the group to another room on the first floor—a room containing all her helpful herbs and other modern medicines and disinfectants.

Meanwhile Sesshomaru carried Holly up the stairs quickly, soon at the second floor. He took her into the first room on the left, and gently laid her upon the bed.

Kaede turned on the light in the first aide room, having them all sit down in a chair. "Who wishes to be first?"

Sango sighed and stood up, following Kaede into an attached room. Checking for wounds, all she found were minor bruises. Her armor had protected her well. Moving on to the others, no one really had any serious wounds as they had avoided all of Naraku's attacks. Miroku had a cut from Kagura's white crescent blades, but he was the only one to lose blood on the battle ground.

Kaede sent them all upstairs for rest, servants would bring dinner later. They needed to rest.

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The next morning, Sesshomaru was first to awaken. He had fallen asleep by Holly's bedside, but seeing she was sleeping peacefully just yet he stood and exited her room. Looking around, he went upstairs to wake up his brother. They were going to make breakfast this morning—he wanted pancakes and Kaede's were absolutely horrible.

Arriving at the fourth floor, he walked down the hall and turned in to the second room on the right. He observed his brother's room, with its red walls and black bed sheets. It was a total mess, he had a guitar on its stand in one corner and that had to be the cleanest, best treated thing in there.

He also had a computer against one of the walls, and a bookshelf against the other full with all of his favorite mangas and animes. Clothes were scattered along the floor, and a dresser was stationed against the wall opposite the bed. He saw another door to his right, and it must have been his brother's walk-in closet.

Rolling his eyes and stepping across the black carpet, avoiding all the strewn objects he shook his brother awake by one shoulder. "Brother, wake up, we're making pancakes this morning."

Inuyasha just rolled to face the other way and groaned, "Only dandelions may be fed to the dishwasher clan…"

Resisting the urge to laugh at his brother's stupidity, he retained a stoic face and shook his shoulder again, "Wake up you moron!" Inuyasha sat up suddenly, looking from left to right before his eyes landed on his brother. He figured everything out right there.

"Oh… what are you doing waking me up so early? It's only ten o'clock!" he whined, glaring at Sesshomaru. He only rolled his eyes and explained himself again.

"We're making pancakes. You know just how bad Kaede's are, so we're doing it. And absolutely no arguing, or we'll wake up the others. Now come on." He turned away and walked through the door, dragging his Inuyasha along.

"You're one to speak, brother," Inuyasha said, "You're the one who starts most of our arguments."

"What did I just say you moronic puppy, shut up…" he whispered the last part as he let go of Inuyasha's arm and walked silently past the room containing their friends. Some of them had demon hearing, so they had to be silent.

Grumbling a little, Inuyasha followed suit. Soon they were at the bottom of the stairs, and onwards into the kitchen. Sesshomaru picked up the skillet and placed it gently onto the gas stove. Just as he did so Kaede walked into the kitchen.

"What are you doing, child?" she asked, "You know that I do the cooking!"

"Making pancakes," Sesshomaru answered shortly, "All of us know how bad yours are."

"Oh pish-posh, but whatever, I'll wake up the others," she turned to exit the kitchen. Inuyasha stopped her quickly.

"No," he said quietly but sternly, "It's a surprise breakfast, you can't wake them up yet!" Kaede just nodded and left as quietly as she had come. Inuyasha sighed with relief and opened the door to their rather large walk-in pantry. Pulling out the pancake mix, Sesshomaru had already gotten the mixing bowl, a whisk, and the measuring up.

Working together they made the mix, and started the pancakes. Inuyasha pulled up a second skillet, which resulted in their cooking being much faster. In around thirty-five minutes or so, they had cooked enough pancakes to sooth all of the appetites. Even Jaguira's, which we know by now is as big as the house they all rested in.

Piling the pancakes onto three large serving plates, they set the table. Neither of them had exchanged a word in the whole process, but this is how they were most of the time. If they worked together, they did it without communication or they knew there would be an argument. Technique was key to succeeding for these two, and they were willing to use it.

Once the table was fully set, Sesshomaru nodded to Inuyasha and they both headed up the stairs to wake everyone up.

Kagome groaned as Inuyasha gave her a rather rude awakening—a shaking of the shoulders, "Kag! Kag, wake up. It's almost noon, I think you've slept late enough!"

"Fiiine! Fine…" she whined, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Inuyasha smiled.

"C'mon, here are some clean clothes," he grabbed the kimono a servant had left in the room from her end table and handed it to her. "Get dressed and come downstairs, you have a bathroom here in the room to use if you want to shower."

She nodded and stood up, entering the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door, Inuyasha continued to smile and left to get the others. Once everyone else was awake he went downstairs and sat in front of the very large double-door that was the entrance into the dining room.

He saw that Miroku and Koga were the first to come down, wearing the clothes the servants had left for them. He smiled, they were from early Japan. Koga was wearing the armor and fur of a wolf demon's tribe, and he seemed to be bearing it rather proudly. Miroku was wearing a monk's robes, which was fitting for his status. Only, they were dark and lighter blues with a small white crescent near the shoulder tie. He also had his staff, "Inuyasha, why are you blocking the entrance into the dining room, where the food is located?" he asked tiredly.

"To keep you from getting inside," he answered bluntly. "This morning's breakfast is a surprise, so you two have to wait for the others."

Soon Sesshomaru came down the stairs, guiding Holly who was still on the fritz thanks to the lightning magic that was coursing her system. He had waited for her to get out of the shower, having woken her last so he could help her out. Sitting down by Inuyasha with her in his lap, the others all arrived within the next ten minutes.

Inuyasha stood up right away, Sesshomaru close to follow because he had to help Holly to her feet.

"Kagome, I think you should get to open the doors," proposed Inuyasha, "because you are the one who finished off Naraku. You deserve the honors."

Kagome smiled as the two brothers stepped aside. Walking forward, she put her hand on the handle then with rather little open pushed the two doors open. The pancakes, and other small side dishes the two boys had prepared sat there waiting for them. Kagome's tired eyes widened exceptionally, and she squealed with joy. It seemed that the sight of the breakfast had woken everyone up, even Jaguira who was finally dragging herself around the others to see.

"Okay everyone," grinned Inuyasha, "Pick a seat and dig in!"

The mass of highschoolers scuttled forth, choosing their seats. Sesshomaru sat next to Holly, the two of them being the last to sit down. Holly snatched up about eight pancakes, while Inuyasha just grabbed a mound.

Jaguira almost grabbed a whole plate to herself, but she was stopped swiftly by Sesshomaru who sat at one of her sides, and thus she picked up quite the number for herself.

Once everyone had served themselves, there was no conversation. They were all too hungry to bother with speaking. After everyone was mostly done eating though, they all struck up conversation. It happened to be about music.

"So Kagome," Inuyasha asked, "Do you play an instrument?"

"Yeah… drums," she said, grinning wickedly. "I started teaching myself in middle school, and I caught on pretty fast. Not to difficult at all!" Kagome looked at Holly, "Holly, do either you or Jagz play an instrument?"

"Yeah!" she answered, "I play keyboards. Jagz knows bass," she grinned a little, "Sometimes we play together, but it's really hard without a drummer or an electric guitarist OR a singer."

Inuyasha smirked, "Yeah? Well I'll have you know I play electric guitar, write, and sing."

"Hey, cool!" commented Jaguira, "Maybe we could pull together a band or something?"

"Sounds cool," Sango cut in, "I don't play an instrument, and I don't think Miroku or Koga do either..?" she looked at the both of them, who shook their heads no. "What about you Sesshomaru?"

"Muh…" he said, "I like to use a turntable. Get into the disc jockey kind of thing. Formerly… it was a private hobby," he looked to the side a little bit. Inuyasha only smiled a bit, while the rest of them quirked their eyebrows.

"Secret? Hell no, I heard you messing with that thing from the first day you got it. And to tell you the truth brother, you aren't half bad at using the thing."

Sesshomaru didn't say anything, but Holly did. "Turntable? Those things are like, soundboards plus," she grinned, "If we pulled a band together, we would have to have someone with soundboard or turntable knowledge…" here she looked at Sesshomaru pleadingly, who just gave her a slight eyebrow rise.

"Oh please Holly… lower myself to playing in a garage band?"

"Lower!" she exclaimed, coughing a little, "Lower my ass! If anything, it would only bring you to higher status." Sesshomaru just made a 'feh' noise, allowing her to figure she'd somewhat won that one.

"Hey wait a second," thought Jaguira, "Why is Kaede, the _principal_, living in your house? Why is she here at noon!"

Inuyasha blinked a bit, "Eh… aside from being the principal, she lives here with us as the cook and caretaker. Both of our parents died a while back, inheriting to us the fortune. They had long back ties with Kaede, who moved in with us to take care of us until we were old enough to live on our own. We never kicked her out, we never could. She's too close to us to do something so cold. As for her being here at noon… it's Saturday."

"Oooh… I see," said Jaguira. "Okay!"

Sesshomaru cut in, "Well anyways, since everyone seems to be feeling better and we've eaten breakfast, how about we get a move-on to the library?"

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Kagome pawed through the bookshelves, searching for the book that Sesshomaru had described to the group. He said it was very large, and old as well. It had a soft brown leather cover, and it was soft. There were gold inscriptions along the binding, and cover but they were in another language. She sighed, letting the breath out roughly as she continued to paw through all the books on the shelf of the large public library.

No one else seemed to be having very much luck, either. They were only hoping no one had checked out the book, leaving them on a wild goose chase. Jaguira was looking rather hard herself, until she stopped and squealed.

"Fruit's Basket! I **love** this anime!"

Holly scolded her almost immediately, "Jaguira! Shhh, this is the library! And stay on topic!" she snatched the manga, "Hey… I haven't read this one yet! Oh well, manga is meant for other times!" She replaced it on the shelf, and went back to her search.

"Aww…" Jaguira whined, looking crest fallen a moment before buoyantly returning to the search like nothing had happened.

Suddenly Koga stopped, gasping slightly as he slid a huge leather-bound book from the shelf. It had gold inscriptions on the binding and the cover, and it looked old and worn just as Sesshomaru had described, "Is this it?" he asked, handing it to him.

Sesshomaru looked at the cover, the binding, then the inside cover. He nodded, an odd glint passing his eyes for just a moment, "This, is the book."

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BC: -Gasp- I've left you with the cliffhanger of cliffhangers! xD laughs Well, I felt that I should stop the chapter here. Please read and review, I'll update the story again once I receive seven reviews. I hope you liked the first chapter of the sequel!


	2. The Leather Bound Book

BC: Hey everyone! I'm back again for chapter two. I don't know but I think I might do a better job keeping up with the chapters for you all! I'm excited to continue on with this story, I'm hoping for lots of reviews and stuff. x3 Okay, onwards!

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_"Aww…" Jaguira whined, looking crest fallen a moment before buoyantly returning to the search like nothing had happened. _

_Suddenly Koga stopped, gasping slightly as he slid a huge leather-bound book from the shelf. It had gold inscriptions on the binding and the cover, and it looked old and worn just as Sesshomaru had described, "Is this it?" he asked, handing it to him._

_Sesshomaru looked at the cover, the binding, then the inside cover. He nodded, an odd glint passing his eyes for just a moment, "This, is the book."_

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Sesshomaru walked over to one of the many tables in the middle of the library. It was circular, and it had just enough seats for everyone to sit around him. They all pulled in close, and leaned over the table to hear his quietly spoken words and see the book. Watching as he flipped through the pages, one by one, the anticipation was thick in the air.

He was looking for the right page for the poem, he knew it was in here somewhere but… he just couldn't remember where. He was able to scan the pages quickly, remembering the font had been rather large and should stand out when he saw it.

Kagome gulped a little, slightly nervous. She knew that reading further in the book she help decipher this a little bit… it was like the prophecy Kaede had told them about before. It played out, but led only to another one. Would the same thing happen when they discovered the meaning to this particular riddle? She didn't know. No one at the table knew yet. But they would learn with time, patience… horrible patience that could be wonderful all at the same time.

Sesshomaru slowed down a little bit in his page turning, it seemed he was wondering if he had missed it by accident? No, he could not have. Suddenly stopped he glanced at some large text on the page, no… not it, but close. Continuing to turn the pages, he kept his stoic face. He felt anxious, and slightly annoyed that he wasn't finding it sooner.

About ten minutes of silent anxiousness went past, before Sesshomaru finally stopped turning the pages. He uttered two, short quiet words, "Found it."

Almost everyone at the table smiled as he pushed the book to the center, and quietly read aloud.

"UPON YOUR NECK LIE SHARDS OF A JEWEL,

THAT IS HIDDEN WITHIN YOUR SCHOOL,

CAN YOU FIND IT, OR CAN YOU NOT?

WATCH OUT FOR EVILS DARK PLOT.

FIND THE JEWEL, EVIL WILL FALL,

FAIL THE SEARCH, AND DARK WILL TAKE ALL."

Everyone read the words a few times over, before Sesshomaru continued on, "It says here that this is a prophecy written about an ancient jewel with hidden powers, or something like that.

When a great evil is beaten, then part of the jewel that was separated will go to the people who destroyed it. It says something about elemental colors but… it doesn't make much sense. Also, that now the jewel is hidden in within a school. It says here that it relates to the prophecy we just fulfilled, only now fate can take two turns." Sesshomaru looked up from the book, "That's it. It seems we'll have to figure the rest out ourselves."

Kagome thunked back into her chair, "Well that sucks, I thought the book might have more information then that… but it does help a little. We must be the good that beat the evil, and these things around our necks are part of that jewel." She tugged a little at the dark choker. The rest only nodded slightly in agreement with what she said.

"The prophecy also says 'your' school,' Koga responded. "Do you think it means inside the school of Four Souls?"

"Yes," answered Miroku, "It makes sense. If we are the good, and it says 'your' school, it must mean our school. Thus, the school of four souls. Do you all think it's maybe hidden inside the basement?"

It was Sango's turn, "Maybe, but doesn't the Janitor and other staff have entrance into the basement? Wouldn't whoever this is hide it somewhere more tactful?"

"Yeah…" replied Jaguira, calm for once, "That makes sense, somewhere more secret. Sesshomaru, does the book say anything about inscriptions?"

"Let me check," he went back to the book and looked at the next page again. Reading over the first few paragraphs, "No… it did mention something about stone though. So, wherever we're looking there has to be something involving stone or a stone… or something."

The group nodded, and Holly had a say, "Well, there is probably stone in the basement. Maybe we could check around down there and see if there is some sort of hidden passageway?"

"Sounds good to me…" said Inuyasha, who had been listening to everything going on. "I've snuck into the basement before, the walls are all stone. The floor is dirt. There was a place that went down even farther but, someone was coming so I had to get out of there."

"Hey, Inuyasha that's great!" smiled Kagome, "Maybe it's down there! Was the entrance open and easily noticeable?"

"Yeah. I just barely caught it out of the corner of my eye before I heard the footsteps."

"Sounds good," finished Sesshomaru. "Tomorrow is Sunday right? Maybe Kaede will let us into the school. I'm positive if we show her the book, that she'll let us into the basement," he was whispering a bit quieter now, he had a feeling of suspicion. Like someone was listening in on their conversation.

The group made their silent agreements, and all stood from their chairs to check out the book.

-----

Once they were all trudging into the mansion, Kaede bustled up to the door, "Well hello there, young children! How was yer trip to the library?"

Sesshomaru answered, "It went well, we found just what we were looking for. Kaede, come with us to the kitchen. We have something we need to show you."

"Uh… alright child," she responded, following after the group as she was led to the kitchen. Sesshomaru removed the large leather bound book from his bag and set it on the table. Kaede's eyes widened as soon as she saw it, and opening it to the right p age Sesshomaru began his explanation.

About a half hour later, Kaede had the full explanation. Nodding slightly she pulled the keys to the school from her back pocket and gave them to Sesshomaru. "I trust you with these, child. Do not lose them, and be sure to give them back to me by the end of your day tomorrow." Her expression was grave, "You are not to tell anyone of this, understand?"

Sesshomaru nodded, pocketing the keys. Shutting the book he quickly put it in his bag and said, "We'll go tomorrow in the morning, we may be there for quite some time… it depends," he looked to the rest of the group, "Meanwhile, why don't we have some fun? Play video games… eat junk food… do normal weekend things."

Once they reached an agreement, they all trudged out of the dining room and down a hall, through the end door into the huge living room like area. There were a few big-screen TV's, all with plenty of game systems. X-box, Playstations I and II, N-64, and numerous games. They had all been here before, but it seemed like they had gotten a few new things since the last time they'd been around.

Grinning, they all launched off to play what game and system they wanted. Today they would have fun, but tomorrow would be very different.

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Buzz… buzz… buzz… SLAM!

Kagome's hand came down hard on the clock's 'off' button. Groaning she tried to sit up, only to find she was trapped by a… an arm? Opening her eyes she saw bright red fabric. Looking up she saw Inuyasha's face, calm and serene with his sleep. Smiling a little she turned red, he'd slept right through the alarm. Wriggling out from his arm, she sat up to look around the room.

She and Inuyasha had pretty much fallen asleep in the middle of playing a video game. It was even paused. She must have fallen asleep before him, resulting in his pausing of the game. Glancing across the room she saw Holly leaning against Sesshomaru's chest. He had his legs cross with her bum placed through the hole they created, her knees bent slightly as they went over his legs. He had his arms around her stomach, and his head against hers. She had her arms wrapped around his.

Looking over at the other couch she saw Miroku and Sango. Sango was comfortable on the couch, stretched across it. Miroku must have tried something, because he was on the floor in front of the couch in a rather odd position. Not to mention, he had a large bump on his head. Looking around a bit more she tried to find Jagz and Koga, but they weren't within quick sight.

Climbing up onto the couch she looked over the back to see if she could find them. They were over in the corner. Smiling, she could see two Gameboys on the floor somewhat near them. They were sitting against the wall, Jaguira slept against Koga's shoulder as he held her gently. Sitting down on the couch regularily she rubbed her eyes then glanced at the clock… she figured Kaede had set it up. It was about eight o'clock, seemed like a good time for her.

Taking in a deep breath she shouted, "WAKE UP!"

Nearly everyone jumped out of their skin, including Inuyasha and Miroku who actually leapt to their feet. Sesshomaru growled a little and held tighter to Holly, who'd actually slept through the yell. Jaguira had slept through the yell as well. The two of them slept quite hard, she noticed. Walking around the room she nudged everyone until they were on their feet. Taking the time to stretch a bit herself, she yawned once and rubbed her eyes again. "Okay… it's like, eight o'clock. We should probably get going, considering we only have four hours left of the morning."

Sesshomaru nodded, trying to keep Holly standing by nudging her back to her feet every time she nearly fell against him, or in any other direction towards the floor. Jaguira was snuggling the wall, probably having fallen back asleep on her feet, "Sesshomaru, since Kaede must have been the one to leave the clock for us, do you think she's made us some breakfast?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes. She probably has. Hopefully she didn't try to make pancakes," a flit of a smile passed his face at the memory. Inuyasha laughed aloud a bit, remembering the gooey mess that Kaede had left in the kitchen. "'Kay… I think by now we all know the way into the kitchen?" he asked.

They all nodded, "Right. Servants probably left clothes for you all in the same rooms you slept in last time. Figuring you remember your way there as well, go ahead and get cleaned up and changed. Inuyasha and I shall do so as well. We'll all meet down in front of the kitchen. Sound good?"

With different murmured agreements from the group, they trudged off towards their rooms in a multi-colored mass.

Around forty-five minutes later, Kagome joined the rest of the group in front of the kitchen doors. It seemed that she had been the last one to finish getting ready. Blushing a little bit, she apologized for being slow.

"Don't worry about it Kagome," Sango said. "We weren't waiting for that long, besides. You aren't just late you're fashionably late!" smiling a little, she was referring to the clothes that Kagome had on. She was wearing her own clothes, which her mom had dropped off some time yesterday. She was wearing a pair of low-rise bellbottom blue jeans, and a black T-shirt that had a small wave design on the front. Underneath it said Goddess, and though it was rather simple it looked very nice on her.

The others had clothes from their own homes as well, all dropped off by parents. Most likely Kaede or some other servant had made some phone calls. Most everyone knew where the Lord Mansion was located anyhow, and everyone lived close by.

"Alright," said Sesshomaru, opening the door into the kitchen, "Lets eat!"

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I suppose that's good enough for today. x3 I reached 2k words, and that is my goal for each chapter. Plus I want to draw the story out a little bit more, and though more chapters doesn't mean everything, I don't want the sequel to be too short. I want anticipation people! -laugh-

Well I hope you enjoyed chapter two of Kagome and the School of Four Souls - The Jewel Within! I look forward to reading your reviews, (if you leave me any.)


	3. The Second Basement

BC: Leik, Hi:3 Here is chapter three, damn am I on a roll! The internet kinda died on me, so I was a little inspired to move on with chapter three. -With nothing else to do, she might as well do something productive…- Yaya, I'll do review responses in this chapter. I forgot about it last time. . ;; but yesh. I'm happy today I suppose. :3

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Review Responses

**Jaguira: **Mighty, mighty! Oops. x33 Ah well, ish still okies. :33 And here is j00r next chapter, a day earlier then planned. 33

**mechebenz******Thanks for the compliments, and here is your next chapter! I feel like it took me forever all of a sudden…

**i**** luv Inuyasha: **Update I think you meant update. xDD no worries, here is your third chapter!

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Last time…

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_"Don't worry about it Kagome," Sango said. "We weren't waiting for that long, besides. You aren't just late you're fashionably late!" smiling a little, she was referring to the clothes that Kagome had on. She was wearing her own clothes, which her mom had dropped off some time yesterday. She was wearing a pair of low-rise bellbottom blue jeans, and a black T-shirt that had a small wave design on the front. Underneath it said Goddess, and though it was rather simple it looked very nice on her._

_The others had clothes from their own homes as well, all dropped off by parents. Most likely Kaede or some other servant had made some phone calls. Most everyone knew where the __Lord__Mansion__ was located anyhow, and everyone lived close by._

_"Alright," said Sesshomaru, opening the door into the kitchen, "Lets eat!"_

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"Yeah!" The group exclaimed, following him through the entrance eagerly. Eyes widened and gasps of 'whoa!' were heard as they eyed the feast before them. Almost every breakfast food one could imagine was there, waiting… just waiting to be scarfed down by hungry teenagers. Everyone quickly seated themselves, and began to eat. The only thing lacking on the table, were pancakes. Kaede wasn't there either, but no one noticed right away.

As Jaguira reached out for the bacon, she quickly picked up the whole plate.

"Hey, don't even think about it!" protested Inuyasha as he snatched the plate from her grasp and set it down on the table in its place. Taking a few pieces he said, "They're called manners, you greedy, greedy Jaguar!"

Jaguira simply stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed a hand-full, digging in to more of the surrounding food. Holly smiled a little at how Inuyasha was handling her sister's appetite, grabbing some food for herself. Once everyone had served themselves, they said a short prayer and dug in.

Now was when Kaede finally entered the kitchen, with what looked like a batter of sorts on her cheeks and clothes. "Here ye go, children. Pancakes galore! Blueberry, chocolate chip, buttermilk, and raspberry! And you boys said I couldn't make pancakes well, tsk tsk I've mastered the recipe!" Grinning proudly as the platters were placed on the table by herself and a few other servants, the group stared eagerly at the steaming perfectly cooked pancakes.

"Are you sure you cooked those yourself, Kaede?" Sesshomaru asked with a hint of amazement in his voice.

"Yes I did! I may have made a mess and spent all night doing it, but I finally learned how to properly cook pancakes. You kids enjoy your breakfast, and fill up! You'll need your energy today." The nodded and smiled, eagerly digging in to the new addition to their breakfast meal. Kaede chuckled a little and sat down, being more of a motherly-figure to the two Lord children she was openly welcomed to join them in their meals.

"So Kaede," Inuyasha asked through a mouthful of chocolate chip pancakes, "Do you have any hints, or tips for us about navigating the basement? Or anything else, for that matter?"

Kaede scolded him for talking with food in his mouth, but she answered none-the-less. "Well child, that bottom room you spoke of I have never entered myself. I do not often go down to the basement, usually it's just the head janitor. I don't know if he is even aware that the room exists…" she trailed off a little, seemingly in thought.

"Well that's just great old lady, now we're gonna' have to do this blindly," Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Oh hush, I gave you the keys didn't I? You all know that this shall be a most dangerous adventure, especially with prophecies and evil involved."

Inuyasha only rolled his eyes again and swallowed, "Yea yeah… I just hope we aren't in over our heads with this one."

Kaede smiled a little, "Don't worry children, you are all very strong. I just want you to be cautious on your adventure alright?"

They all nodded, and promised her that they would watch their steps. Soon everyone had finished their meals, and rose to be on their way to adventure.

-----

The group now stood out in front of the front door of the school, Sesshomaru leading them and holding the keys. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the right key into the lock and turned it, opening the door. Once everyone was inside he grabbed the keys and pulled the door shut. It was completely dark, and Kagome had little chills going down the back of her spine… she figured they were alone but… who knew in a building of the supernatural?

Inuyasha stepped in front of Sesshomaru, speaking in a quiet voice to everyone. "I should probably lead from here… I am the one who trekked into the basement and saw the door after all."

With short agreements, everyone cautiously followed Inuyasha as he headed onwards to the staircases. He had used one of the main ones curious what was at the bottom the first time, knowing he should take the same path that he had before. Soon they reached the stairway, and without a hinder they began the way down. It was much darker down there then in the hallways. Sure there were no lights on in either place, but the stairways had no windows.

Using the walls to guide them, he brought them down the stairs and to the door. Finding the handle he tried to turn it only to find it locked, "Sesshomaru, the keys." Receiving the keys from his older brother he tried a few of them before finding the right one, and opening the door. Strangely, when he pushed it open he found that there were lights on.

"Maybe they are emergency lights?" reasoned Sango, "You know, the ones that aren't controlled by a switch and are run by a back-up generator?"

"I don't think so, Sango," said Inuyasha as he flicked the light switch, the lights were turning on and off. "There is someone else in this basement."

Kagome could feel the adrenaline rushing through her system, some one else was here? Who could it possibly be? As her breathing sped up, Inuyasha slowly led them to where he had seen the door into the basement. Yes, there was another door, into a deeper lair… a place not even Kaede knew about. There were no lights on leading down this way, but there were small sounds echoing up from it's depths.

The strangest thing was, there was no door. It was just open doorway yet… there was something not right. Like it wasn't supposed to be there… strange.

Kaede had not mentioned knowing about a second basement but, she had said she didn't come down to the basement often. Often… which meant she had been down there before. If she had known of the second basement, wouldn't she have said something about it? Been able to give them a warning… maybe a little bit of information?

Gulping slightly, Inuyasha lead the way into the dark basement. Sesshomaru followed directly after him, then Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Koga, Holly, and Jaguira. Both Holly and Jaguira had their tails wrapped about their middles, and ears flattened down. They were getting bad vibes from the basement they were about to enter, and little hairs were standing up on the back of all of their necks.

"I've g-got a really bad feeling about this…" said Jaguira, her skin a little bit paler then normal. The others just nodded in agreement with her. Finally, Inuyasha's foot found floor instead of stair, and he groped along the slightly slimy walls for a light switch. When he found it, he flicked it on. Dull lights flickered on, illuminating the ground area in front of them.

Dirt was under their feet, instead of tile or stone. Or even carpet. That meant that this must be the lowest bowels of the school. It had a musty smell, like it had been closed up for quite some time now or simply rarely visited. It also smelled a little bit… rotten. The strangest thing was, there were lockers along the walls. As well as doors for classrooms, and walls for hallways. There were doors at the end, but Sesshomaru could see that they were chained shut. As they looked, they felt awful confused. The stairway leading down into this was obviously stone, but there was nothing else to do with it anywhere else along this floor.

Taking a whiff out of instinct, Sesshomaru loosed a low growl. "We are not alone."

-----

BC: Wah, I know it's a bit shorter then I normally make it but I just had to stop there! It was such a gorgeous cliffhanger and not to mention, I'm having a hard time thinking of what to write. It's only 11:30 PM and my best writing for this story seems to come out around 2 AM. What really ticks me off is that my internet has been dead all day, so I can't post your new chapter now. (Now Monday, August 01.) I guess I shall wait until Wednesday, like I originally planned. :3 Anyhow, until next time. R&R!

Edit: Wait until Wednesday! Screw that, I'll update today! (Tuesday, August 02.)


	4. A Challenge?

_Last Time…_

_Dirt was under their feet, instead of tile or stone. Or even carpet. That meant that this must be the lowest bowels of the school. It had a musty smell, like it had been closed up for quite some time now or simply rarely visited. It also smelled a little bit… rotten. The strangest thing was, there were lockers along the walls. As well as doors for classrooms, and walls for hallways. There were doors at the end, but Sesshomaru could see that they were chained shut. As they looked, they felt awful confused. The stairway leading down into this was obviously stone, but there was nothing else to do with it anywhere else along this floor._

_Taking a whiff out of instinct, Sesshomaru loosed a low growl. "We are not alone."_

---

Kagome gasped in a little, "Not alone..?" Everyone around her tensed, some drew weapons out. All demons in the group were sniffing at the air, doing their best to figure out what this demon was.

"It smells like some sort of kitsune demon, no blood…"

No one replied to Sesshomaru's last comment, but they weren't surprised at the lack of blood. There was no one down here after all… well, except for them. None the less, no one innocent was hurt. Kagome jumped slightly when she saw a dark shadow move quickly across the hall, it must have been the kitsune. She was hiding… hiding from them. Hearing a loud bang of what sounded like metal on metal, she figured that the kitsune was banging against the lockers, trying to startle them perhaps. All held their ground.

The banging came closer, then a bizarre scraping sound. A 'shing' announced that a blade was being drawn, a second blade maybe even. Kagome watched as the stranger walked out from the shadows into the musty daylight. A small flick was heard as a switch was flipped and dull fluorescent lights lit across the middle of the ceiling, the figure became visible. It was indeed a kitsune demon, a SHE kitsune demon. She was wearing a dark, army green spaghetti strapped tank top, and baggy black jeans that nearly covered her combat-booted feet. She had chains hanging from the front belt-loops, connecting in the back. Two sheaths hung from her hips, and she had long brown hair with natural blonde highlights. She was a full demon, it wasn't hard to tell, but she couldn't fully masquerade as a human it seemed. She was covered in fur and had a long, heavy tail with a dark tip. Some of the fur on her chest was white, as well as the fur around her muzzle. Her ears had dark tips, and one of them had a characteristic flop.

"Welcome to my dungeon," she announced, "I am Keya, I shall be your host," she cocked her weight onto one leg, jutting out her hip and extending an arm to hold up one of her very sharp swords, "Are you prepared to play my little game?"

"We do not play games, mutt," was Sesshomaru's icy and quick response, "We're here on business. Who sent you?"

"I will ask the questions!" Her voice was loud, harsh, commanding. It instilled fear in Kagome's chest, causing her to become nervous. This kitsune girl said she was playing games, but obviously was a business of her own, "Now, what are you all doing here?"

"For nunya," inserted Jaguira, with a slightly cocky air.

"For nunya… what?"

"Nunya business, bitch!"

Kagome watched as Keya became pissed, she was standing straight now with her fists clenched at her sides. Her eyes were bleeding red, she was obviously getting pissed at the insolence. Without warning, she threw one of her blades aiming directly between Jaguira's eyes. She turned her face and caught the blade in her teeth with her amazing cat reflexes, glaring back equally. Kagome could feel the tension sparking in the air as if it were Naraku's electricity. Suddenly the blade was ripped from her teeth by an unseen force, flying back into Keya's hand. Jaguira slapped a hand over her mouth, blood gushing down between her fingers… the blade must have cut open the corners of her lips.

The bitch in Jaguira had hardly come out, yet, and Koga was getting incredibly pissed to top it off. He moved in front of Jaguira and held out one arm, the other clenched in an offensive fist, "You'll never touch her again and live," were his simple yet icy cold and deadly words.

"Feh," Keya spit on the ground in front of her, "I doubt that, wolf boy."

Kagome watched as seemingly from nowhere a large spotted Jaguar jumped over Koga and into the front of the group. It's back near reached the ceiling, and the tail was almost long enough to reach the stairs. Six inch fangs hung far below the chin, and the eyes were a deadly looking blue and red. The black tips on the large fuzzy ears gave it away… Jaguira had transformed. A rumbling growl shook her form, and blood was pooling slightly under her mouth on the ground from the cuts into her cheeks.

The kitsune woman smirked, "I don't think that I like you one bit, Jaguira."

The cat rouffed in a rather surprised manner and immediately sat down with a loud thud.

"That's right… I know every single one of your names. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Kagome… Sango, Miroku, Koga… Jaguira, Holly. I know all about you, your pasts, I know you to the very school schedule you follow every day. I know when your absent, when your late, and when you cuss at your parents. I know all your secrets, all your deep and dirty little secrets."

Her smirk seemed to grow with every single word she spoke, and now the whole group seemed at least a little bit uncomfortable. She continued to speak, "Now… are you ready to play my game? Or will you risk losing your dignity, or maybe your lives… by declining my challenge?"

Sesshomaru looked back at the group without loosing sight of Keya, checking everyone's expressions and feelings. He then turned and looked directly at the kitsune woman, "We'll play your… game. But what's in it for us?"

"Freedom," she replied simply, "And maybe a little bit of information, maybe."

"And if we lose?"

"You must give up on searching out the meaning of the prophecy, and you musn't speak to each other anymore. You know damn well that I know every thing about you, including how many hairs there are on your dumb little heads. I'll know if you betray this… trust me. So are you ready?"

Sesshomaru unleashed a low growl, and so did every other demon and half demon on the good side, "Yeah… fine. What are the rules?"

"The rules are very simple. You can not use your powers, and any of you with demon senses will have them dulled to that of a human. No transformations," at that Jaguira instantly poofed into her human form, still sitting like she had been as a cat, "and you have a time limit. Forty-five minutes; to find me, hidden somewhere in this basement. Every ten minutes you will get a hint, which means that you will only get two. All of you will receive the same message, at the same time, telepathically. If you find me, we congregate here… at a safe distance, and if you don't? You follow the contract."

The whole group nodded or made a spoken agreement in some way, then Sesshomaru spoke again, "Any other rules?"

"Just one. You are not allowed to use your weapons. Just one suggestion to start you off with…you better work as a team."

With that, she simply disappeared. Inuyasha immediately began scratching at his ears furiously, "I feel like I have cotton in my ears!" He was talking loudly, obviously he felt like he couldn't hear himself. She'd done something, cast some sort of spell, dulling all the excelled senses that the demons had.

Kagome sighed a little then turned to the rest of the group, "I don't like this… not one bit."

---

**BC**: OH my god I am a terrible, terrible person! DDDDx I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN AGES. –cries- I'm so sorry everyone. / 3 But here you are, new chapter… better quality than the others, I hope. Please no tomatoes for me being such a terrible updater, and I'm getting better. I was so clogged last year with school work I didn't even have time for my friends… it was bad, very bad… but hopefully, I'll update on a more regular basis now and I'll get more chapters out at a better pace. 3: Love you guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing!


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